


Your Brother's Hand

by Seraph_Novak



Series: Destiel One-Shots [35]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst with a Happy Ending, Castiel & Sam Winchester Friendship, Castiel Has Self-Worth Issues, Established Castiel/Dean Winchester, Family Feels, M/M, Marriage Proposal, One Shot, POV Sam Winchester, Relationship Advice, Sam is a great friend
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-13
Updated: 2018-02-13
Packaged: 2019-03-17 13:23:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,444
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13659876
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Seraph_Novak/pseuds/Seraph_Novak
Summary: Castiel is planning on proposing to Dean, but has second thoughts concerning his worth. Luckily, Sam is here to talk some sense into him.





	Your Brother's Hand

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, guys! I wrote this in longhand because my anxiety was acting up (and computers really don't help) so I hope it's not terrible. I was in the mood to write some Sam & Cas friendship fluff for a change, so here we are... I hope you enjoy it!
> 
> As always, all kudos and comments are very much appreciated. Thanks for reading :) ♥

Cas was stood outside the door. Sam could hear him, pacing back and forth like a naughty kid outside the principal’s office. He listened to the sound of his shoes clicking up and down the hall for a while; he kind of thought the angel would find the guts to knock if he gave him enough time, but apparently not. Fifteen minutes passed before Sam took pity and opened the door himself.

“Hey, Cas,” he said, waving a welcoming arm inside. “You wanna come in, or…?”

Cas bristled at the invitation, as if caught off guard, but slowly nodded his head all the same. “That would be wonderful. Thank you, Sam.”

“No problem.” He stepped aside to let his friend pass. The tail of Cas’ trenchcoat brushed against his leg and Sam wondered – not for the first time – why the angel still insisted on wearing such stuffy clothes. Maybe it was a force of habit. “Is there something on your mind?”

Cas clenched his fists undecidedly, glanced down at the bed, and took a seat. “Yes, actually. It’s of great importance.”

“Ah. So, it’s about _Dean_ , huh?” Sam enjoyed teasing his brother and Cas about their relationship. He was completely supportive – he’d been rooting for them, in fact – but watching them squirm was just too hard to resist. It was actually quite endearing. “You planning on doing something special?”

Cas didn’t miss a beat. “I’m planning on proposing to him. Tonight.”

Sam flailed. “Proposing! Wait, are you serious?”

“Would I joke about this?”

“Oh my god.” He scrubbed a hand over his face, slowly trying to process this new information. Cas was waiting eagerly for a response. He was probably hoping for something coherent and encouraging, but all Sam could do was laugh. He shook his head with a giant, uncontrollable grin and threw his arms around Cas. The angel froze for half a second, then hugged him back. “This is amazing, Cas! I’m so happy for you guys.”

“He hasn’t said yes yet.”

“Oh, c’mon. You know he will.”

When Cas didn’t answer, Sam realised he was being serious. He pulled away and patted his friend on the back. “Dean loves you,” he said. “That much I know for certain. Why would he possibly say no?”

Cas shrugged. “Because I’m an angel? Because I’ve done terrible things and hurt a lot of innocent people. Because I’ll never be worthy of him…”

“That’s ridiculous. We both forgave you for the things you did a _long_ time ago, Cas. And it’s not like any of us are completely blameless.”

“But I damaged Dean’s trust in ways I can never repair.” Cas’ words were heavy with guilt and shame, his eyes pooling with regret. “Trust is a major issue with Dean. As his brother, you know that better than anyone. But my past actions were utterly insensitive to this fact. I betrayed him, Sam. How could he possibly trust me to be a good husband after all those years of dishonesty?”

“If you’re so convinced he’s going to say no, why are you even asking him?”

“Because,” Cas said, his shoulders slumping. He looked tired and defeated, like the walls were closing in on him. “Dean is my world. He makes me feel whole and happy and _free_ , and I… I want to spend the rest of my life with him. Even if our lives are shorter than most.” He held his head in his hands and sighed. “But these reasons are purely selfish, and Dean deserves better than that. Which is why I’m here, to ask for your advice.”

Sam balked. “I don’t know what to say, Cas. You’ve kinda put me in an awkward position.” He rolled his head from side to side, deliberately stalling the conversation. Once all the bones in his neck had cracked, he said, “You already know what I think. You and Dean are great together; getting married would just be the icing on the cake.”

“But what if he still resents me? Even if it’s just subconsciously. I can’t bear the thought of pressuring Dean into a marriage he doesn’t really want.”

“If he still resented you, you wouldn’t be dating at all.”

Cas considered this for a moment, then fell silent. Sam watched the sharp planes of his back rise and fall as he crumpled over, his shoulder blades jutting out like the wings he and Dean would never be able to see – not in their true form, at least. Cas was a celestial enigma with eons of life experience under his belt, and yet he was just as human as the rest of them. He had fears and doubts and endless regrets, but he also had dreams. And Cas was just as deserving of a happily ever after as anyone else on the planet. His past mistakes didn’t make that any less true.

“Dean used to be this way,” Sam said gently, waiting for Cas to lift his head before continuing. “He still is sometimes. The Mark of Cain made it worse, and then the Darkness came along… Dean might not have been able to control himself, but saying yes to Cain was what started it all. He accepted the Mark to kill Abaddon, to save the world. It was a selfless act, but it lead to a whole lot of bad. Dean never stopped blaming himself for that. Especially after he hurt you.”

“That wasn’t his fault,” Cas muttered. “Like you said, he couldn’t control himself. But I knew exactly what I was doing when I teamed up with Crowley and consumed those souls. And when I helped Metatron cast the angels out of heaven. And when I said yes to Lucifer. I am fully responsible for all the horrible things that followed.”

“You teamed with Crowley to try and stop Raphael. To _protect_ us. You trusted Metatron because he was great at manipulating people. You said yes to Lucifer to try and defeat Amara.” Sam sat down beside him and knocked their knees together. “You never meant to hurt anyone, Cas. You might suck at making decisions, but that doesn’t make you a bad person. You wouldn’t be a real Winchester if you didn’t have a ton of regrets. The key to moving forward is not letting them weigh you down. You have to forgive yourself, before anyone else. The wallowing isn’t worth it. Trust me.”

Cas pressed his lips together. “I didn’t mean to bring back any bad memories.”

“It’s okay, Cas. I know I’ve made mistakes – probably more than you – but if I blamed myself for every little thing that’s went wrong in our lives, I wouldn’t be able to get out of bed in the morning.”

“I have days like that sometimes,” Cas admitted grimly. His eyes softened as another thought struck him, the corner of his mouth tugging upwards. “Dean has this incredible ability to sense when I’m feeling down. He doesn’t push me to talk; he even brings me breakfast in bed.” Something flashed in his eyes, the gears finally clicking into place. “He loves me.”

Sam nodded. “There you go.”

“But is that enough?”

“What you and Dean have is more than most couple can even _dream_ of. I mean, you’ve literally survived hell together.” Sam chuckled. “Marriage should be a cake walk in comparison.”

Cas looked down at his feet with a soft little smile, the two of them falling into a comfortable kind of silence. He kept touching one of his coat pockets, and Sam wondered if that was where he was keeping the ring. He was tempted to ask if he could see it, but Dean would hopefully be flaunting it around the bunker in a matter of hours anyway. He was content to just sit there, giving Cas time to think things through. It only took him a few minutes to reach his decision.

“Thank you, Sam,” Cas said. He got to his feet and held out a hand for him to shake. Sam pulled him into another hug instead. Once they broke apart, he added, “I suppose there’s just one last thing to say.”

“Go ahead.”

Cas stood a little straighter, his shoulders sliding into a military position. “I would like to ask for your brother’s hand in marriage. Do I have your blessing to proceed?”

Sam rolled his eyes fondly. “Yeah, Cas. You have my blessing.”

And sure enough – just a couple hours later – an excited holler echoed through the bunker. Sam heard the words “I’m getting fucking married!” coming from Cas and Dean’s room in a chorus of elated shouts and smiled.

No one deserved a happy ending more than those two.


End file.
